High Hurdles

The Economist: July 6th 2013

The Highest Hurdle: Immigration Reform

Lynchburg Virginia: “Getting a bill through the House will be harder than climbing the border fence.”

“As his constituents aired their concerns at a town-hall meeting this week Bob Godlate, a Republican congressman from Virginia, nodded politely… But he is in no doubt, he later explained, that most of his constituents want to see stronger enforcement of existing immigration laws and oppose a path to citizenship.”

Hurdle races are track and field events in which runners compete running and jumping over hurdles. It will be difficult to get a bill through the House as it has a Republican majority. The Senate with a Democratic majority has passed an immigration bill.